A/N: I'm changing my style of this story to 3rd person and past tense. Writing in 1st person and present tense was a very...interesting experience for me but I don't think it really suits this story. But this also means that I have to name my main character! :O I hope everyone enjoys this.
Bonds
yellow - friendship
dark red- hate
light red - loyalty
black - enemy
pale blue - ally
When Tahlo opened the door to the captain's cabin, Chlorin, the last warrior of Summer's Leaves, stepped in and Max closed the door behind them. In front of the three sat the captain of Unnamed, the ship that would bring Chlorin to...a location.
"Tahlo," the captain said.
"Yes, captain."
"I appreciate what you did to stop the fight. I trust that I do not need to remind you that what you have must be used very carefully and only in desperate circumstances."
"I understand," Tahlo said.
Tahlo's voice was magic, Chlorin realized. That must be why he listened to the man.
"On to business. Why are you here?" the captain asked.
Max approached the desk and saluted to the man. "Autumn has ordered us to accompany the bondseer to several of our bases to find the assassins and spies."
"Bondseer?"
Feeling obligated to explain it himself, Chlorin took up the speaking role and told the captain what he could do. As he did, Chlorin stood balanced with his hands at his side; he just couldn't shake off the notion that he should be alert and wary of being in enemy territory.
Enemy territory.
He shook his head absently, think that he should stop seeing them as the enemy. After all, he was working with them toward the same goal. They were his allies.
"Can you tell me why someone accused Sparks for being a traitor, thief, and spy?" Max asked.
The captain leans back with a sigh. "Months ago, we suffered losses to one of Winter's small forces. There is plenty of resentment and suspicion because of the excellent timing Winter had in attacking. Then, we found a dead guard who was not enclosed in ice magic but slain with a metal dagger."
Chlorin knew of two ways that Winter's soldiers killed: they either used ice to freeze and suffocate their enemies, or they formed weapons out of ice and snow. If a soldier was killed by Winter's forces, the wound would be frozen over once the cut was made. If the guard was killed by a metal dagger -
"Someone from Unnamed killed the guard," Max whispered. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVrTfXrpehM
"Sparks had the misfortune for letting out her bitterness toward Winter by harshly critiquing of our own forces. Some took it as support for the enemy and thus the accusation of traitor, if only in opinion.
"As for being a thief and a spy, it came after that accusation, which put everyone on edge. Misplaced objects and seeing Sparks in the vicinity led to unwanted aggression."
"Excuse me for saying so," Max said with a frown, "but the soldiers on Unnamed would seem petty to think that way."
"They are still being trained, though that is no excuse," the captain said. "I am positive that Sparks is innocent of those crimes and is loyal to Autumn."
"And her loyalty toward yourself?" Chlorin interjected.
The captain gives the bondseer a hard look. "She will not go against any cause that Autumn supports."
They left the room to go down a ladder that led to the lower levels, where they were given a single room to share.
Max placed her hands on her hips when each of them claimed a hammock - both guards were on either side of Chlorin's. "We are supposed to be guarding you from escaping as well as from others who may wish to attack you."
For the first time, Chlorin truly examined them with the critical eye of a warrior gauging his opponents' strength.
"There's no point in thinking that you can defeat both of us," Max said.
"You've read my mind."
Tahlo let out a laugh from his position on his hammock, to Clorin's left.
Max continued, "Before we were assigned this task, our job was to guard Autumn. Before that, it was to train soldiers. We know every dirty trick and perfected fighting style there is to know."
"I will keep that in mind."
Max nodded. "Seeing as our goals are the same, there should be no reason for you to go against us. The only thing left is to guard you from other threats."
Chlorin knew that he could easily protect himself, but he'd let them think what they liked.
"No one but us and the captain knows you are a bondseer. But we will not lie to our comrades about why you are here."
"Then what will you say?"
Max unbuckled her sword. "I will say that we are on our way to to the Sea Room."
Chlorin didn't respond as she finished speaking and opted to wait, to see if she would explain. When she remained silent, Chlorin laid down on his hammock and closed his eyes.
Max came to lay on her own hammock. "Have you seen anyone with suspicious bonds?"
"Yes."
Silence met the answer.
Then together, they bombarded him with questions.
"I won't tell you who it is," Chlroin said, raising his voice, "until I am sure. Is there a place where we will meet with everyone on this ship?"
Max stared at Chlorin in dismay and anger for a heartbeat before sighing. "Most will be in the mess for dinner."
Dinner time indeed proved to be useful. They took the seats near the entrance, where they could see all the occupants who come and go. Chlorin's eyes roamed over the colourful bonds. He easily filtered through the bonds and set them aside in his mind, as he did every day of his life. Today, he was only interested in two bonds. He started from the captain, the focus of the exercise.
The captain wasn't as old as he thought he would be. He was, according to Tahlo, only forty-seven years old: agile enough to keep a ship in shape but old enough to reprimand every man and woman on board.
His brown hair had only a few strands of grey and his hard face showed that he wouldn't take any nonsense from anyone. His grey eyes were sharp and met Chlroin's straight on when he noticed the bondseer watching him. Chlorin gave him a nod and shifted his eyes down the captain's bonds.
He found Sparks easily when he followed the black bond that connected her to the captain. Still wearing her jacket and sword, she lined up for her food and ate it standing. No one approached her and she didn't try to start a conversation with any of her shipmates. Many of them actually avoided her to the point where they would take the long route around the already cramped room than step into her personal space. In two minutes, she returned her bowl to the cooks and left.
"Who's Sparks?" Chlorin asked.
"Don't know," Max said with a mouthful of soup. She broke her bread and gave Tahlo half. Then she gave Chlorin a hard look. "Is she the one?"
"Can you find out who she is? And also him," Chlorin nodded at the man who just came through the door. He had red hair, blue eyes, lean, and tall. Like all the others, he wore a sailor's uniform but Chlorin didn't see any holsters or sword belts on him. Most didn't bring weapons to the mess, but he was still able to see where they would've worn them if they did.
The stranger looked around the mess hall and grinned when he found his friends at a table playing a game of cards.
"Hart," Tahlo said.
Max raised her eyebrows. "That's Hart?"
Chlorin tap his spoon to his bowl three times before Max replied. "Hart is the magician attached to Unnamed. As the mage, he takes care of emergency communication and scrying ahead. He does other mage things, too. He's as loyal to the ship as any soldier. That is what goes around when people talk about him."
A mage. With a black bond to the captain of the ship he is apparently loyal to. Hart's bonds to those sitting with him are pale blue - allies. On varying levels, each sailor Chlorin saw was loyal to the captain, as the light red bond indicated. Hart also had such a bond, though it was significantly weaker than his black bond.
Back in their room, Max and Tahlo crowded him. "Right, I think it is time to tell us. It is either Sparks or Hart. Am I right?"
"I said I won't tell you until I am sure."
"Why?"
Chlorin looked at Tahlo when he voiced the question.
Bonds. Sometimes Chlorin found it hard to explain to himself, let alone to others. He took in a deep breath and tried once again, to explain his philosophy.
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